Requirements for Political Science Majors
These requirements are effective Fall 2021.
- 33 hours of political science courses
- 18 of the 33 hours at the 3000-level and above
- POLI 2051 American Government / or POLI 2052 Honors: American Government
- At least 1 course in each of the other traditional fields of study (Comparative Politics, International Politics and Political Theory)
Concentrations
Majors may, but are not required to, designate 1 or 2 concentrations (which consist of four (4) courses within the any of the "Fields of Study" or "groupings") from the list of nine concentrations below. A student may count the same course towards two concentrations, but may count only one (1) course outside Political Science towards a concentration (and counting a course from another department towards a concentration in Political Science does not reduce the 33-hour minimum in Political Science).
Four (4) Traditional Fields of Study
(1) American Government & Politics
- General: POLI 2051, POLI 2052, POLI 4000*
- Political Behavior: POLI 2030, POLI 4026, POLI 4028, POLI 4029, POLI 4030, POLI 4031, POLI 4032, POLI 4034, POLI 4035, POLI 4036,
- Public Law and Jurisprudence: POLI 4020, POLI 4021, POLI 4023
- Public Administration: POLI 2070, POLI 4011, POLI 4017
- State, Urban, and Local Government: POLI 2056, POLI 4015, POLI 4039
(2) Comparative Government & Politics
- General: POLI 2053, POLI 4060*, POLI 4062, POLI 4063, POLI 4064
- Western Europe: POLI 4074, POLI 4075, POLI 4076, POLI 4077
- Latin America: POLI 4065
- Russia and Eastern Europe: POLI 4070, POLI 4072
- Asia: POLI 4067, POLI 4079
- Africa: POLI 4078
- Middle East: POLI 4061
(3) International Politics & Law
- International Politics: POLI 2057, POLI 4040*, POLI 4044, POLI 4045, POLI 4046, POLI 4047, POLI 4048, POLI 4050, POLI 4059
- International Law & Organizations: POLI 4041, POLI 4042
- Foreign Policy: POLI 4043
(4) Political Theory
- Political Theory, General: POLI 2060, POLI 4090*, POLI 4234
- History of Political Thought: POLI 4080, POLI 4081, POLI 4082
- Contemporary Political Thought: POLI 4096, POLI 4097, POLI 4098
Additional Fields of Study
(5) Law & Legal Systems
- American Constitutional Law: POLI 4020, POLI 4021
- Judicial Politics: POLI 4023
- International Law: POLI 4041
- Sociology of Law: SOCL 3371, SOCL 4471
- Mass Media Law: MC 3080, MC 3081
- Legal Writing: ENGL 3101
(6) Public Policy & Political Analysis
- Research Methods (Required): POLI 3001 or POLI 4001
- Public Policy, General: POLI 2070, POLI 4035
- Topics in Public Policy: POLI 4011, POLI 4015, POLI 4017
- Political Economy: POLI 4046, POLI 4062
- Foreign Policy: POLI 4043
- Research Analysis: POLI 4998*, 4999*
(7) Race, Ethnicity & Gender
- Politics & Elections: POLI 4039
- Constitutional & Political Thought: POLI 4021, POLI 4080
- Gender & American Politics: POLI 4028
- Politics & Poverty Policy: POLI 4017
- Race and the Media: MC 3333, MC 3505
- Cross-disciplinary Perspectives: HIST 2061, SOCL 2511
*Each field has a special topics course available that may be taken for up to 6 hours of credit when topics vary. These courses are POLI 4000 (American Government and Politics); POLI 4040 (International Politics and Law); POLI 4060 (Comparative Government and Politics): and POLI 4090 (Political Theory). In addition, POLI 4996, 4997, 4998, 4999, may count toward a Political Science field with approval of the departmental advisor.